Some retailers and product distributors require goods packagers to tag the goods electronically by applying electronic tags to the packaging or the containers within which the goods are delivered. The electronic tags, which generally take the form of radio frequency identification tags (RFID tags), are encoded with numbers such as Serialized Global Trade Item Numbers (SGTIN) or other codes defined by a standards body that allow the goods to be tracked and inventoried by automatic or manual reading systems without further physical or visual contact with the tags or the packaging to which they are applied. Computer systems can store updatable information about the manufacture, conditions, and transport of the goods linked to the serial numbers.
For example, many retail goods are delivered in corrugated boxes having RFID tags applied to the boxes as way of identifying and communicating the contents of the boxes as well as the histories of the boxes and their contents from the time the contents are first made to the time the contents are emptied from the boxes. Typically, the RFID tags are encoded and applied to the corrugated boxes at the time the boxes are filled. Applicators for encoding and applying RFID tags to corrugated boxes can add considerable expense to individual product filling lines, especially since only a limited number of the orders filled by the lines may require RFID tagging. Problems with the application or encoding of the RFID tags can interrupt or slow the product filling lines, and unreadable or otherwise defective tags applied to the boxes require the affected boxes and tags to be discarded and replaced.
Some goods packagers require the manufacturers of corrugated boxes to supply the boxes with RFID tags already applied to the boxes. Similar difficulties can be encountered applying the RFID tags to boxes during their manufacture. Requirements for encoding, applying, and inspecting the RFID tags can slow production of the boxes and produce waste. High operating speeds of the box-making machines leave little time for inspecting the functionality of the tags, leading to a high rejection rate. Rejections after the tags are applied may require disposal or rework of the affected boxes as well as the tags. In addition, management of the electronic product codes among the functional tags applied to the boxes also involves difficulties and can require investments in expensive software.
Attempting to encode RFID tags after the tags are applied to boxes can be even more problematic because the required radio frequency (RF) field can be more difficult to accurately position with respect to the already mounted tags. The content of the boxes can also affect encoding operations. Lower electronic tag yields and more difficulties managing the encoded information are among the consequences.